Union suit



' March 15,1927.

J. M. ATKINSON UNION SUIT- Filed June 4; 1924 INVENTOR Jos. MJQTKINISON.

A TTORNEYS I Patented .Mar. 15,1927.

wa M1 ATKIiisoN, oF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND; isssremawo oermnenvr, onsliilvboner C01VIPANY,,I1\TC., oFBAn'rIMoaE, MARYLAND, acoareaa'rro'n or? MARYLAND.

Application filed June 4,

This invention'relates to union suits and more particularly to underwearfor both sexes, anobject of the invention being to. provide" a closedseat garment which will be wellfitting and comfortable, and which isopen-alonga-' line extending obliquelyd'ownthe front-of theleg, makingit easy tooper'ate and giving a wider opening, which ismore comfortableanddesirable A further object of the invention 1S: to provide aunionsuitof the type stated wh ch providesafull opening at the backOIEFlZhG garment, and when closed 7 and buttoned; or otherwise-securedpresents a neat and at-- traetive "appearance;

With tl'iese and other objects. in view,ythe inveirtien conm'sts incertain noveli featuresof construction and combinations andqa'rrangements of parts, which will be more fully hereinaft'er described andpointed out in the claims.

.In the accompanying drawings V Figure 1 is a perspective viewillustratlng my improved garment for use by men and y a Figure 2 is aperspective view taken at a different angle to show the back or rear ofthe garment; Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vlew illustrating adetail of construction; 7

Figure 4 is an exaggerated fragmentary view in section on the line l4 ofFigure 1;

Figure 5 is: an exaggerated fragmentary view in section on the line 55of F1gure 2;

Figures 6 and 7 are views slmllar to Flgures 1 and 2 illustrating awomans garment,

Figure 7 showing the garment partially opened.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1,

2, 3, 4: and 5 of the drawings, A represents 7 my improved union suitwhich is made preferably of inelastic material, but it is, of course, tobe understood that the invention is not limited to any particularmaterial as I may employ any material which is suitable for the purpose.However, union suits of this type are ordinarily made of cotton and'oflight material so that they are cool in the summer, but they may, ofcourse, be made of heavier material to suit the trade.

My improved union suit has two new and distinct improvements, whichco-operate to give comfort to the wearer and shapeliness and utility tothe garment. 'One of these wearer. I

' Un on stir.-

1924. Sei'iaYNO, 717,804.

features is the provision'of an open-ingor slit 1 which extendslongitudinally alongthe opening or slit is preferably somewhat atjanfront of one leg2 vof the garment. "This angleitothe verticaldimensions'o-fthe gab.

ment,- th.us providing an easy accessible Opening .1n front, at the sametime, giving avery large open-mg which 1 gives more comfort in a closedseat garment.

The edges of the material ofthe'slit or opening 1 may be strengthened orreinforced 'ini variousfways, as, for example, by provid ing seams orfacings a which are coupled by buttons 5 and. buttonholeslor othersuitedgesofthe opening orslit l arejoined by thestitcihes- 7 of theseam; so; thatthe; garment ismade as strong as-possiblej at this pointof uncture where considerable strain is pu upon th garmen whe i iopened. 1

Another feature of my invention is the provision of a. waistband orstrip 8 which the reinforced edges 4 of the opening 1 are JOHIQd. sothat a numberof thicknesses of.

material with suitable stitching is provided to give a strong anddurable juncture of these portions of the garment.

Before or while the waistband 8 is being sewed to the back of thegarment, the material of the garment-at the back and at both sides ofthe center thereof is provided. with pleats 10, so that when theWaistband, is

abl f n ng m The e rein erf e fixed, pleats are provided above and belowthe waistband to give ample room to the seat and the body portion and atthe same time to give somewhat of a fit to the garment and make it more,comfortable to the I lay particular emphasis on this formation of thewaistband and pleats at the back because of the fact that garments.ofthis nature heretofore made with side openings have straight lines sothat they hang like a bag and not attractive in appearance, and

are not comfortable to the wearer when the outer garments are placedthereover as they fold and crease and pile up at different parts of thebody. 7

By providing an opening or slit at the frontof one leg, Idispense withthe location and girls, and in this garment the same features ofinvention are embodied and are given corresponding reference characters.

In the male garment the union suit is preferably open and buttoned downthe front,

as shown at 11, and the womans garment B has shoulder straps 12,although it is, of course, to be understood that my invention is notlimited to these features as a wide variation may be had in the mannerof supporting, closing, or shaping the upper portion of the garment. Inother words, I desire to cover broadly the manner ofopening the garmentalong the front of one leg together with the manner'of forming the backof the garment, and cover this idea broadly in connection with any otherstructural features of a garment of this type for use by either sex.

Various slight changes and alterations might be made in the, generalform of the parts described without departing from my invention, andhence I do not limit myself to the precise details set forth butconsider myself at liberty to make such slight changes and alterationsas fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim: I 1. As a new article of manufacture, a union suit having aside opening beginning at a point adjacent the side se at the waist lineand extending obliquely to the bottom and front portion of one leg ofthe garment, and fastening devices for closing theedges of said opening.

2.-As a new article of manufacture, a union suit including a waist, andleg members, and having side seams, a waistband sewed to the back of thegarment and extending from i one side seam to the other, said garmenthaving a slit extending obliquely from the waistband at the side seamalong the front portion of one leg member, reinforcements securedto theedges of said slit and secured in the side seam at the point where theend of the waist-band is fixed, and coupling devices oarried by thefront leg portions at op-' posite sides of the said slit.

JOSEPH M. ATKINSON.

